Electronic device having multiple antennas with shared structures for near-field communications and non-near-field communications

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10200092-B1
Application number	US-201715719317-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Sep 28, 2017
Priority date	Sep 28, 2017
Publication date	Feb 5, 2019
Grant date	Feb 5, 2019

Abstract

An electronic device may include a peripheral conductive wall. A gap in the wall may divide the wall into first and second segments. The device may include a first antenna having a first resonating element arm formed from the first segment and a second antenna having a second resonating element arm formed from the second segment. A non-near-field communications transceiver may perform multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) operations using the first and second antennas. The gap may provide satisfactory isolation between the first and second antennas while the first and second antennas perform MIMO operations. Near-field communications circuitry may convey near-field communications signals over a conductive loop path that includes portions of the first and second segments and the antenna ground. The volume of the conductive loop path may extend across substantially all of a width of the electronic device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device, comprising:
a housing having a peripheral conductive wall;
a dielectric-filled gap in the peripheral conductive wall that divides the peripheral conductive wall into first and second segments;
an antenna ground;
a first antenna having a first resonating element arm formed from the first segment and a first antenna feed coupled between the first segment and the antenna ground;
a second antenna having a second resonating element arm formed from the second segment and a second antenna feed coupled between the second segment and the antenna ground;
non-near-field communications transceiver circuitry coupled to the first and second antenna feeds and configured to convey non-near-field communications signals using the first and second antennas; and
near-field communications transceiver circuitry coupled to the peripheral conductive wall and configured to convey near-field communications signals over a conductive path that includes at least some of the first and second segments of the peripheral conductive wall.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 , wherein the non-near-field communications transceiver circuitry is configured to concurrently convey the non-near-field communications signals at a given frequency using the first and second antennas under a multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) scheme.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 2 , further comprising:
a third antenna coupled to the non-near-field communications transceiver circuitry; and
a fourth antenna coupled to the non-near-field communications transceiver circuitry, wherein the non-near-field communications transceiver circuitry is configured to concurrently convey the non-near-field communications signals at the given frequency using the first, second, third, and fourth antennas under the MIMO scheme.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 1 , wherein the near-field communications transceiver circuitry is coupled to the second segment of the peripheral conductive wall via a first inductor and the conductive path includes the first inductor.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 4 , further comprising:
a second inductor coupled between the first and second segments of the peripheral conductive wall across the dielectric-filled gap, wherein the conductive path includes the second inductor.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 5 , further comprising:
a third inductor coupled between the first segment of the peripheral conductive wall and the antenna ground, wherein the conductive path includes the third inductor.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 6 , wherein the third inductor comprises an adjustable inductor that is configured to tune a non-near-field communications frequency response of the first antenna.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 6 , further comprising:
a fourth inductor coupled between the first segment of the peripheral conductive wall and the antenna ground; and
a first capacitor coupled in series between the fourth inductor and the first segment of the peripheral conductive wall.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 8 , wherein the first antenna feed comprises a first positive feed terminal coupled to the first segment of the peripheral conductive wall and the second antenna feed comprises a second positive feed terminal coupled to the second segment of the peripheral conductive wall, the electronic device further comprising:
a second capacitor coupled between the first positive feed terminal and the first segment of the peripheral conductive wall; and
a third capacitor coupled between the second positive feed terminal and the second segment of the peripheral conductive wall.

10. The electronic device defined in claim 9 , further comprising:
a fourth capacitor coupled between the second segment of the peripheral conductive wall and the antenna ground, wherein the fourth capacitor is configured to form a return path for the second antenna at a frequency greater than or equal to 600 MHz.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 9 , wherein the first inductor has a first side coupled to the second segment of the peripheral conductive wall and a second side coupled to the near-field communications transceiver circuitry, the electronic device further comprising:
a fourth capacitor coupled between the second side of the first inductor and the antenna ground, wherein the fourth capacitor is configured to form an open circuit at a near-field communications frequency and a short circuit at a non-near-field communications frequency.

12. The electronic device defined in claim 5 , wherein the first and second inductors are configured to pass the near-field communications signals and the second inductor is configured to block the non-near-field communications signals.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 1 , further comprising an adjustable circuit configured to tune a non-near-field communications frequency response of the first antenna, wherein the adjustable circuit comprises:
a first terminal coupled to the first segment of the peripheral conductive wall;
a second terminal coupled to the antenna ground;
a first inductor coupled between the first and second terminals;
a capacitor coupled to the first terminal;
a switch coupled to the second terminal; and
second and third inductors coupled in parallel between the capacitor and the switch.

14. An electronic device, comprising:
a housing having a peripheral conductive wall;
a dielectric-filled gap in the peripheral conductive wall that divides the peripheral conductive wall into first and second segments;
an antenna ground;
a first antenna having a first resonating element arm formed from the first segment, a first antenna feed terminal coupled to the first segment, a second antenna feed terminal coupled to the antenna ground, and a first return path coupled between the first segment and the antenna ground;
a second antenna having a second resonating element arm formed from the second segment, a third antenna feed terminal coupled to the second segment, a fourth antenna feed terminal coupled to the antenna ground, and a second return path coupled between the antenna ground and a location on the second segment that is interposed between the dielectric-filled gap and the third antenna feed terminal;
non-near-field communications transceiver circuitry coupled to the first and second antenna feeds and configured to concurrently convey non-near-field communications signals using the first and second antennas; and
near-field communications transceiver circuitry coupled to the first segment of the peripheral conductive wall by an inductor, wherein the near-field communications transceiver circuitry is configured to convey near-field communications signals over a conductive loop path that includes the inductor, a portion of the first segment, the first return path, and a portion of the antenna ground.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Irci Erdinc
• Wang Han
• Atmatzakis Georgios
• Ayala Vazquez Enrique
• Tong Erica J
• Gao Xu
• Hu Hongfei
• Jin Nanbo
• Pascolini Mattia

Classifications

• H01Q23/00 Primary

  Antennas with active circuits or circuit elements integrated within them or attached to them · CPC title

• H01Q1/521

  reducing the coupling between adjacent antennas · CPC title

• H01Q1/50

  Structural association of antennas with earthing switches, lead-in devices or lightning protectors · CPC title

• H01Q1/48

  Earthing means; Earth screens; Counterpoises · CPC title

• H01Q1/44

  using equipment having another main function to serve additionally as an antenna {, e.g. means for giving an antenna an aesthetic aspect}(H01Q1/27 - H01Q1/34 take precedence) · CPC title